


Foxhound High (Collected Shorts)

by thelonebamf



Series: Foxhound High [1]
Category: Metal Gear
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, High School AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-16 15:26:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8107699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelonebamf/pseuds/thelonebamf
Summary: A collection of moments and encounters from Dave and Hal's days in high school. Written as they come to me, not necessarily in chronological order.





	1. Caught Staring

“I’ve seen you stare.”

Hal held tightly to his books, shuffling awkwardly from side to side as he tried to get past the hulking form of the upperclassman currently standing square in front of his locker. He swallowed, blinking rapidly as he looked up and was met by a stern glare.

“I- I’m sorry? I just need to-”

“Look kid, I’m gonna be blunt,” the older student interrupted, crossing his arms and leaning hard against the cold metal. “You’ve been watching him. Pretty intently, so I’m sure you’ve noticed me too. The two of us are… close.”

“Oh- oh… I see,” Hal stammered, book held close to his chest, eyes now cast to the ground. “I never meant any harm, I just-”

There was a brief huff of laughter that halted his train of thought.

“As if you could do any harm to anyone. I’m not here to give you grief, Emmerich, I’m here to give you a warning.” He raised an eyebrow, giving Hal an appraising look.

“I don’t know what’s going on in that overcrowded little head of yours, whether it’s hero worship or something else,” he said dismissively, “but you’d best forget about it.” He stared hard at Hal for a moment before casting his gaze down the hall. David Sears… he’s a good athlete, good teammate but he doesn’t do… relationships.“

Hal was stunned into silence for a moment, biting his lip and trying hard not to let panic show on his face. Had he been so obvious? If Frank Jaeger had noticed his attraction to their classmate, had anyone else? Had Dave?

David. He reminded himself.

"I- I understand,” he said quietly, shoulders hunched.

“Good,” Frank said curtly. “Then we’re done here.” He stayed glued to his spot, however, and seemed unwilling to move. Hal simply gripped his book a little tighter and made his way back down the hall.

—

“You don’t seem to be in a good mood today, forget to finish your article?”

“Mmf, no. But It’s still in my locker I couldn’t-” Hal hesitated, “-couldn’t make it there after my last class. I got caught up.”

“Oh?” Mei Ling leaned in, interest piqued. “Another chat with the teacher about your latest extra credit assignment? Or were you, ahem, lingering again.”

“No- no nothing like that. Not today.” He hid his head in his hands, sighing deeply. He’d broken down, confided in his friend some weeks ago, hoping it would make things easier. And it had, at least for a while.

“Normally I would tell one of my friends to say something, but in this case- well, my grandmother used to tell me ‘Love is not about possession, it’s all about appreciation.’ Maybe it’s better if you keep your feelings to yourself. Appreciate from afar.”

Hal grimaced, reality forcing itself upon him at every turn. “I know, I know. It’s just- I’ve been watching him for a while and he always looks so…”

“What?” Mei Ling asked. “Strong? Handsome? Distant and yet attractive?”

“…lonely.”


	2. Makeup Assignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mightscrub asked: HS AU Hal is asked to bring his Super Big Crush Dave his assignments at home because Dave has been absent from class for a long time. WHAT DO? WHAT HAPPEN??

Hal’s bike skids to a stop as he nears the house, but his hands refuse to let go of the handlebars just yet. He swallows hard and closes his eyes, reminding himself that there is no reason for him to feel nervous. He just has to drop off the handful of assignments, maybe see if Dave had any idea when he’d be back in class… normal stuff. No need to feel weird. No reason anyone would suspect that Hal-

He takes a deep breath and walks the bike up the drive, leaning it against the porch as he pats his bag, checking for the dozenth time that he’d remembered everything. 

There is no answer to the knock on the door. No response to the doorbell either. He shifts his weight uneasily and tugs at the sleeves of his shirt, wishing he’d thought to wear a sweater. 

He’d barely made it out here today, isn’t sure he could summon the courage to do it a second time. Maybe… yes, the door opens at a gentle push. He could leave the papers inside perhaps, with a note? Another deep breath and Hal steps inside.

“Hello? Dave? Are you here? It’s Hal from… from class? I just came to bring you-”

It’s dark in the house, but the curtains over the tiny kitchen window are drawn and isn’t that…?

But isn’t Dave sick? It’s already growing cold out, fall quickly giving way to winter winds. Hal grabs the jacket he finds thrown over a chair and tucks it under his arm.

He’s already come this far, and besides- going out the backdoor counts as leaving, doesn’t it? He feels less awkward once he’s outside anyway, sneakers crunching on the gravel path that lines the unkempt yard. David doesn’t stir from his perch on top of the battered picnic table. 

“D-Dave?” Hal ventures, still unsure if his presence will be welcomed. “H-hey. Hi. I um. I brought your homework from Chem. Um.”

There’s no answer, and for a while Hal assumes he’s being ignored, Dave unwilling to look anywhere but the distant rows of trees and power lines beyond the fence. Hal shuffles forward, shoves the jacket in front of Dave’s view.

“You’re sick, right? I thought… it’s cold out. So maybe you should…? I mean you don’t want to be out longer than you have to, right? People… I mean we miss…” He pulls his gaze away from Dave’s face. “It would be nice to see you at school again.”

Dave turns his head at that and opens his mouth to speak but closes it quickly and looks away. Hal is about to turn and leave when he’s hears his voice.

“I’m fine. But you can wear it if you’re cold.”

He can’t deny the goosebumps on his skin or gentle shivers running through his chest, but whether it’s the cold or not, Hal can’t say. But if Dave is offering his jacket then is that also an invitation to stay? He pulls the sleeves on over his arms, sighing happily in the sudden warmth and tries not to feel like he’s a total creep for liking the way the jacket smells.

He doesn’t wait long before hopping up on the table, near Dave- but not so close as to be “next to” him. The sun is toying at the tops of the trees, soon it will disappear entirely. 

“If… if you want, I could give you a hand with some of the assignments. Catching up and stuff. It can be a little-”

“-Overwhelming.” Dave finishes, still not looking at him.

“Yeah.” Hal stares down at this sneakers. “But… I could! I mean, I would. If that’s not too weird. I’m sure you’d rather work with Meryl or Frank instead of the class weirdo but-”

“You’re not a weirdo.”

“Huh?” 

Neither of them say anything for a while, and Hal begins to think he must have imagined Dave’s interjection, wishful thinking at best. Pathetic fantasizing seems closer to the mark.

“You’re smart. I’ve seen what you can do on a computer. And you’re always working on… well I don’t know honestly but… I mean that’s real stuff isn’t it? Things like that mean you’ll be the head of some company some day. It’s stuff that matters. What’s weird about that?”

Hal knows it’s rude to stare but right now he can’t stop himself.

“I… I guess so, but…”

“But all this?” Dave tosses his head a little in the direction of Hal’s shoulder, currently covered in any number of spirited patches. “This doesn’t matter. It’s all… games. But it’s what I’m good at so…”

“But it’s not all you’re good at!” Hal nearly shouts, slumping down into the folds of the oversized garment as he feels his cheeks begin to redden. “I… I mean… you’re great at this athletic stuff but… I mean I know… I’ve seen… you’re a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for. And erm…” He fidgets, unsure of exactly how much he should reveal. “I mean I’ve read some of the stuff you wrote for the school paper, back when you did that sort of thing… you’re good, you know? You have this way of…s-sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t…” He straightens his legs for the short hop to the ground.

“No- wait. Wait.” There’s a hand on his shoulder and he turns for a second to see Dave’s face, questioning and unsure. Hal finds his spot back on the table, a little closer this time.

“Dave?”

“You really want to stick around? Help me out?”

“S-sure!” He nods quickly, as though waiting for a more than a second will mean Dave will reconsider his words. “Yeah! Any of this! I mean I’ve already done most of the assignments on my own so it’ll be easy and if you want to.. y’know just..talk.. or…”

“Sounds good. Just-”

“Yes?” Hal gnaws at his lip, prepared to agree to whatever terms of secrecy Dave might demand of him.

“Can we- not talk about sports?”

The blush on Hal’s face gives way to a genuine smile. 

“No problem.”


	3. Big Mama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: the mgs highschool au is precious and great but might i suggest something-- eva/big mama as the PTA mom. imagine dave bringing hal home for dinner the first time and introduces him to the parents and poor hal just CANNOT. HANDLE IT.

“Thanks for waiting up til after practice. You didn’t have to do that. I’m sure you had other plans.”

“It might surprise you to know that my friday nights are and have always been remarkably free, actually.” Hal smiled, adjusting the straps of his backpack as they made their way up the last few steps of the walk.

Dave smiled. “Even so- oh… oh damn.” He eyed the white sedan parked square in the drive, freshly waxed, windows spotless. “Crap. I forgot.”

“Something the matter?”

“Yeah… no. I don’t know.” Dave sighed. “It’s my mom.”

“I thought you and Eli lived with your dad?”

“We do,” Dave nodded. “But she lives in town and likes to drop in time and time and when she does… eh. You know how my dad is kind of… “hands off”?”

Hal didn’t, but he nodded anyway.

“She definitely… isn’t. Maybe we can just say hi for a sec before ducking out. That okay?” 

“Sure!” Hal was actually kind of curious. Dave didn’t talk about his family much, neither did he for that matter. But being invited in to “meet the folks”… well that was sort of a big deal, right? Even if it was on accident.

“Davey! Come here babe give mom a kiss. I’m almost done here.” The blonde woman, meticulously made up, edged the phone closer to her ear with her shoulder while her free arm squeezed her son. 

Hal was impressed, and maybe a little surprised. From what little he’d seen of David’s father he gathered the man was quiet, maybe a little temperamental, and generally preferred to be on his own. Whereas the woman in front of him looked as though she’d be perfectly at home modeling swim suits or motorcycles.

“Well, Marissa maybe you should _make_ it your job until somebody on that end learns how to find their ass with both hands behind their back. I don’t have time for this, my son is here. I’ll call you later.” She jammed the phone back into it’s holder before turning to give Dave a hug in earnest, both arms squeezing him tightly as he squirmed and tried not to look Hal in the eyes.

“And who is this?” 

“Mama, this is Hal. Hal… my mom.”

A wide grin took over her striking features and before Hal could say anything she’d all but picked him up in a strangling hug of her own.

“Call me ‘Big Mama’.” She pulled back, still beaming. “So you on the team with Davey?”

“N-no ma’am…” Hal shook his head quickly, unsure how genuine her question was. “We’re just.. um…” He shot a glance to Dave, unsure. They hadn’t really discussed _what_ they were, if anything, and this didn’t seem like quite the moment to sort all that out.

“Hal’s been helping me with my coursework. He’s not on the team, but he runs a club of his own,” Dave offered.

His mother finally let go of Hal and gave him an appraising look. “Is that right? Well, can’t say that I blame him- not with those bedraggled excuses for uniforms you boys are sporting on the field.”

“Mama…” Dave gave her a strained look. “I’ve told you before, fundraisers take time…”

“I know, I know. And they expect you to go door to door selling candy bars or whatever it is, like you’ve got time for that between all your games and keeping up with your homework. He _is_ keeping his grades up, isn’t he Hal?” She leaned over as she asked, but refused to lower her voice at all.

“Y-yes ma’am. He’s doing very well.  Dave is… really very bright you know?” 

She laughed a bit at that. “Oh, I know. He had to get something from his mama, didn’t he? We all know this,” she ran a quick hand over the scruff that was starting to grow on her son’s chin, “came from your father. Kind of him to contribute something, don’t you think?”

“Mama…” Dave hung his head, cheeks growing red.

“Candy bars!” Hal nearly yelled, causing both David and his mother to stare at him in surprise. 

“I… uh… you know, if you brought them to the comic book shop on weekends…” He continued, trying to hide the waver in his voice. “W-well usually they’re holding game tournaments and stuff, bunch of kids sitting around for hours- practically a captive audience. I bet you’d sell out in no time!” 

There’s another moment of silence before Eva laughs and Hal can practically feel the warmth coming off of her, seeping deep into his hands and face.

“Now that’s some clever thinking,” she said, slapping him on the shoulder. He struggled not to wince. “Glad my boy has someone like you around to help him out. Wish that other boy of mine had half as much sense. Tell you what, you boys let me take a few to freshen up, and we can all go out for some pizza. Sound good?”

“Sure!” Hal beamed and for the few seconds it took her to leave he was able to ignore the mild ache in his shoulder. 

Dave took a silent step coming up just behind him before speaking in low tones. “She’s… pretty intense.” 

“Yeah,” Hal turned, but stopped abruptly when he almost bumped into his friend. “But that’s kind of nice, isn’t it? At least you know she cares.”

“Heh, guess so,” Dave agreed, placing a hand on Hal’s shoulder, thumb making slow circles just over his shoulder blade.

“I guess it’s kind of nice, really. Having someone who cares.”


	4. Never Seen the Ocean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: hal and dave as lab partners, bonus points if they're dissecting a frog

Hal sat stock still in his seat, goggle and rubber gloves already on although the bell was still minutes away from ringing. He’d practically skipped lunch, preferring to gnaw on the straw of his juice box before giving up on it. It was probably for the best, the smell of formaldehyde was already doing a number on his stomach- to say nothing of the fact that he’d just found out his lab partner was-

“Hey.” Dave said, setting his backpack on top of the lab table.

“H-hi.” Hal mumbled, still afraid to move.

Dave raised an eyebrow, noting the goggles already starting to fog up a little on Hal’s face. “Suited up already? Pretty gung-ho about all this, aren’t you?”

“Actually…”Hal tottered from side to side in his chair, trying to get comfortable and failing. “…I’m not so sure about all of this. You know I suggested they switch the class to a computer modeled simulation, you still get to see all the organs and everything, it’s even animated! But…”

“No dice?”

“Mm mm. I mean… what are we supposed to learn from this anyway? That we couldn’t get out of a diagram? Animals have guts? I know that! there was no need to kill a frog just for that.” He sniffled once. “…Poor little froggy…”

Dave stared at him blankly as the bell rang and the teacher started calling pairs up to the front to pick up their tools and subjects. He stood when his name was called, but paused long enough to give him a quick pat on the shoulder.

“It’ll be okay. You keep the notes and diagram neat. I’ll take care of the wet work.”

All in all the experience wasn’t as horrifying as Hal had expected. The smell didn’t get any better, but listening to Dave as he explained what he was doing made the process seem a little more clinical, bearable even. And he was determined to keep up his end of the bargain, meticulously labeling each organ as Dave extracted it, laying it out in the shallow pan. 

“You sure you don’t want to give this a shot? It’s not really so bad.”

Hal looked up from their worksheet and peered at the frog laid open on the table before glancing up at Dave. 

_You should at least try. He’s going to think you’re a total wimp. Even more so than everyone already does, if that’s possible._

“O-okay.”

It turned out to be a mistake. The sudden burst of unlaid eggs ended up being too much, and Hal had to run out the door to excuse himself, interrupting Donald’s seventh puppetted iteration of ‘Hello My Baby”.

The water from the bathroom sink and noticeable absence of preservative chemicals in the air did wonders, and after a minute or two Hal began to feel better. Mostly better. At least where frogs were concerned.

_Way to go, Hal. Really cemented that ‘biggest dork in the school’ rep you’ve been working so hard on._

“Hal?”

Dave stood a few feet away, door propped open with one arm. 

“You okay?”

“S-sorry,” Hal stammered, uneasiness in his stomach seeping out into the rest of his body. His arms and legs began to shake and he had to hold onto the sink for support.  “I didn’t mean to- um. Yeah. I-I’ll get back in there and finish it. Can I just have a second?”

“Hal there’s no need to force yourself to-”

“Yes there is! We… we’re partners!” He hadn’t meant to yell, but the bathroom tiles were doing an exceptional job of echoing his words back at him. “It… it wouldn’t be fair for you to do all the work. I’m not totally useless, you know? I can pull my own weight.”

“Whoa, hey.” Dave reached a hand out as he stepped forward, letting the door close behing him, but put pulled back just a few inches shy from Hal’s shoulder. “Nobody said anything about… you’re… you’re doing just fine.” He sighed, and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Look, at the end of the day, we turn in that worksheet. That’s what we get graded on, right?”

“…yeah?”

“Well who’s been taking all the notes, labeling all the parts and making sure the diagram is filled out?”

“Me. I guess.”

“So the way I see it,” Dave pulled his gaze away to look at the door of the nearest stall, “you’re doing all the hard parts. We’re still doing this together. We’ve _been_ doing it together. So relax.”

Hal didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded, and tried not to look to hard at the miserable reflection just in front of him.

“Okay.”

“Great.” Dave started to head back for the door. “Come back when you’re ready, we’re almost done.”

Hal nodded again, uneasy smile finding it’s way across his face. “Thanks. I”ll be right there. Don’t want to keep you waiting.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous asked: does Hal ever get bullied? what does David do if he notices?

“I’m not sure we should be here.” 

“We’re not doing anything wrong. We bought tickets”

“Then why are we hanging out under the bleachers instead of sitting in seats like normal people?”

Hal didn’t answer, just mumbled to himself and turned away from his friend, thin fingers finding their place along the cold aluminum bars as he peered out between the slats. The autumn air was chilling, especially at night, but tucked below hundreds of stomping feet, it was almost cozy, and from here he had a better view of the players. 

“Ugh, are they even on the field right now? It’s been two hours.”

Johnny paced a little, arms tucked around his stomach as he glared at Hal. 

“Game’s in overtime, but it looks like they’ve got it in the bag. Don’t you want to congratulate Meryl when it’s all over?”

Johnny scowled. “That’s a cheap shot, dude.” He slumped against one of the bars, hands tucked deep into the pockets of the jacket he wore, almost identical to Hal’s. 

“I know, I know. But I appreciate you coming with me. I don’t think I’d have the guts to-” 

“What do we have here?”

Hal had no chance to turn around before a hand grabbed him roughly by the shoulder, spinning him hard until his back slammed against the underside of the bleachers. He didn’t know the boy who had him all but pinned against the cool metal, but the cruel look of satisfaction was one he knew too well.

“We-we’re just watching the game.”

There was a derisive snort and the boy took half a step back to give Hal a once over, but without giving him the space to eke by. Hal managed to steal a glance over his shoulder, and saw Johnny being similarly detained by some other equally grim looking upperclassmen. 

“Funny. Everyone else seems to be enjoying the view from up high. You guys aren’t watching, you’re creeping.” He laughed darkly. “Suppose that shouldn’t surprise me, you’re a creep after all, aren’t you Emmerich?”

Hal paled. He’d only ever wanted to make it through school peacefully, learn what he could, maybe make a friend or two. How was it other people seemed to just _know_ him? And why were they always monsters like this guy?

Whoever he was, he turned his face long enough to take a look at Johnny and made a quick assessment.

“You, you’re on the track team aren’t you? You at least deserve to wear that jacket.” He sneered. “Don’t remember the school handing them out for being a super nerd, though.” He gave his friends a single nod and they released Johnny, none to gently, with a shove out into the open. Hal could hear his sneakers beating fast against the pavement as he closed his eyes.

It wasn’t until Hal hit the ground that he realized he probably should have yelled for Johnny to get help. 

_Keep that in mind for next time._

That was if there was a next time. The kick to his stomach made his insides lurch and he didn’t have a chance to catch his breath before he could feel angry pressure around his arms, lifting him up to his feet. He gagged, couldn’t stop himself from coughing a spray of sickly foam all over the face of the boy holding him there, which ended with him back on the ground.

“You little shit! You think you’re funny?” 

Hal hear something crack and prayed it was just his glasses.

“Oh we are going to make you pay for that you little-”

 

“What the hell is going on here?”’

If this had been a movie, the whole thing would have ended there. Bullies scared off, running in separate directions- terrified of the newcomer. 

But Hal had learned that real life and fiction were worlds apart, so he tried not to be too disappointed when he received another blow. The scent of iron entered his nostrils. Was it blood? Or just the soil? The grit in his mouth definitely tasted like mud, but it was difficult to be sure, with his head held flat against the ground.

And then, just as suddenly as it had began, the pressure eased up off of him, knee slowly pulled from his back, fingers released his hair letting his body drop limp and cold. He instinctively curled in on himself, wincing at the pain in his side, with strength enough to do little more than wave vaguely at the figure coming towards him- for all the good it would do.

He couldn’t see much, glasses lost somewhere in the grass- just a hulking figure blocking out the slats of light streaming in from the stadium. Still, he turned away, hugging his arms to his chest.

“Please…” he whispered. “I… I just wanted to see…my… f-”

 

“Hal? Hey. Hey!”

A familiar face started to swim into view- murky and unfocused, but Hal would recognize those planes and shadows anywhere.

“Dave?” It was hardly a question, more of a hope. “I… oh no. God. I.. I’m sorry… sh-shit….” He tried to rise to his feet, but a twinge in his ankle sent him hurtling back to the ground. “I’m… I didn’t mean to….. didn’t want you to…”

He started crying. Of course. The final indignity to this awful night- the crowning glory of humiliation. Tears streaming in uneven streams down his face,carrying traces of mud, and yes that _was_ blood towards his lips and he couldn’t even bring himself to speak, to properly apologize for being such a pathetic loser. 

“Dammit Hal, what did they do to you?” It was a rhetorical question, cuts and fresh bruises providing plenty of evidence. Hal could hear the anger flaring up in his voice, half expected him to run off then and there- chase down the group of thugs and give them a proper beating. But second after second passed, and Dave remained. A minute later, he’d replaced Hal’s glasses- cracked and dirty, but still serviceable. 

“You think you can walk?”

It took Hal a moment to understand the question and he was frightened to realize he didn’t know the answer.

“Dunno. M-maybe?”

“Nevermind. C’mon.”

In a single, swift movement, Hal found himself on Dave’s back, arms slung around his neck, though the bulk of his support was coming from Dave’s arms, wrapped around his legs.

“Just hold on tight as best you can. Let me know if you need a second.”

 

Hal couldn’t really process the passage of time in any meaningful way, he simply nodded and pressed his head against Dave’s back, worn fibers of his jacket warm against his face. It seemed like no time at all when he was eased down onto a seat and left to stare at Dave as he stepped away. Hal strained to see where they’d ended up, but found himself entirely unfamiliar with the room. The vague scent of wood and rubber was familiar, like the locker room after gym.

“Field House.” Dave said quietly, answering Hal’s curious gaze. “Nearest place I knew of with a first aid kit handy. Just the basics. If there’s anything seriously wrong though, we should take you to the hospital.”

Hal opened and closed his mouth once or twice. He hated hospitals.

Dave didn’t say anything else for a while, instead choosing to focus on helping Hal clean up, opening up packet after packet of fiddly alcohol swabs and rolls of gauze. 

“We can get pretty banged up on the field,” he said after a while, “so it’s a good idea to know how to take care of this stuff.”

“Yeah.” Hal whispered.

“That takes care of your face and the ankle but-” Dave paused, eyeing Hal’s stomach. “Can you lift your arms? Let me take a look at you.”

Hal wrapped his arms around himself tightly without thinking, heart suddenly pounding so hard he could feel his whole body shaking.

“N-no it’s fine. I’m sure I’m o-okay.” He tried to hop down from the table where Dave had set him, but winced as soon as he put any weight on his ankle.

“Hal, wait. Wait! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“H-hurt myself?” Hal stared back at him, unbelieving, shaking as he struggled to support himself on the edge of the table. “I… I didn’t hurt myself. Those… those guys came after me just be-because…” 

“Because those fuckers are absolute monsters who are definitely going to get theirs. Don’t worry, the second Johnny told us what was going on, I could see Meryl and her boys getting ready for a fight.”

“Johnny- went to… to you?”

Dave smiled softly. “Of course he did.” He reached out to help Hal back up onto the table. “You’ve got friends who care about you, you know?”

Hal didn’t say anything, but loosened his grip around himself before slowly pulling his shirt and jacket off with no small amount of trouble.

“There we go.” Dave reached out, rough fingers seeking out the obvious bruises, hovering just above them before gently making contact around the darkening spots. “Anything sharp when I touch here? Here?”

“N-no…” Hal winced, “I mean.. it.. it hurts but… just a regular sort of…” He sucked in a quick breath as Dave’s fingers ghosted over a particularly tender spot. 

“I don’t think they did any serious internal damage, but maybe we should get you to a clinic just in case.” 

Hal leaned into the hand stroking his hair, too tired and worn to worry about being embarrassed. His eyes closed, which was just as well- he didn’t think he could stand to look at Dave as he cried for the second time that night.

“Hey, you’re going to be okay, alright Hal? Here.” Dave pulled the battered jacket around Hal’s shoulders, foregoing his shirt for now. The gesture was enough to bring Hal, already swaying uneasily, flush against his chest.

“Alright there?”

Hal didn’t answer right away, instead taking a moment to listen to Dave’s heartbeat as he relaxed against the soft rhythm of his breaths.

“No…” he said at last. “But I will be.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is probably a little out of order. It's meant to be a "How did Dave and Hal start hanging out?" story.

Hal didn’t know why it had started.

 

He’d made his way through his first several semesters by learning a few simple truths about life and Foxhound High.

 

Everyone had their place.

 

Everyone expected certain things from you.

 

And if you wanted to make it through your four years alive, it was best not to upset the ‘natural order’ of things.

 

The knowledge had not come easily to Hal, who had too often made the mistake of talking to classmates who wanted nothing to do with the gangly, bespectacled nerd who constantly ruined the grade curve. But eventually, he resigned himself to keeping quiet and out of the way.

 

Especially at lunch.

 

It was with no small amount of disappointment that he discovered he was on his own this semester, Johnny and Mei Ling both in other lunch periods. Not only that, but the whole of the athletics department appeared to fill the cafeteria on his first day, shoulders bumping, voices booming. For a while, Hal considered taking his lunch into the bathroom, or running off to the library and skipping it altogether, but all of a sudden his luck took a turn for the better, as the crowd streamed outside.

 

Hal peeked through the small window in the metal door, and could see a sea of letter jackets making their way out into the green patch of grass that stretched out between the school and the playing field. It left the cafeteria nearly deserted, which suited him just fine, and soon he had claimed an empty table in the corner, where he was free to read and eat his lunch in peace.

 

Things carried on much the same for the next few weeks, Hal’s breath catching for a moment as he walked into the crowded cafeteria, only for him to sigh with relief as they all flooded outdoors again. He wondered vaguely what might happen when it turned cold, but that was a problem for another day. For now, he was content in his moments of peace- and solitude.

 

It came as quite a surprise, that day when he looked up from his reading and discovered he wasn’t alone.

 

He wasn’t exactly sure why Dave, of all people in the school would choose to sit here of all the tables in the room next to him of all the anxious nerds on the planet.

 

And yet there he was.

 

It was possible Dave hadn’t noticed him. After all, Hal didn’t exactly take up much space, and he did tend to sink down into his seat if he wasn’t paying attention. And from the looks of it, Dave was engrossed in his own book to pay him much mind. It was a mistake, probably, easily made.

 

Hal chose to say nothing.

 

He’d forgotten the matter entirely until he saw his usual table, blessedly empty as he took a seat and began unwrapping his sandwich.

 

Moments later, he had company again.

 

Dave still chose not to say anything, book and apple more than enough to keep him occupied, but Hal found he couldn’t focus on the words in front of him, his eyes constantly darting to the side.

 

It wasn’t even as though the other tables were full! But maybe Dave was working on reading for an assignment and preferred to sit at the one table that wasn’t overrun with his friends. It was as likely a reason as any, Hal supposed. He resigned to put up with it for the next few days.

 

Soon a few days became a week. Then two. And Dave infuriatingly refused to say anything about it all.

 

And then the others came.

 

It started with Meryl, tray still in hands, leaning over a chair to ask Dave what he was doing inside, when everyone else was out on the green. He’d said nothing at all, simply shrugged and gestured to his book, leaving her to shake her head with a smile as she headed for the doors. Hal breathed a sigh of relief, but if Dave noticed, he made no comment.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, Hal had had a little trouble with his locker, and by the time he came to their table… no _his_ table, he reminded himself, Dave had already taken a seat. Hal slipped into his chair and pulled his lunch from his backpack, but made no move to eat it, and simply stared at Dave, wondering if he might get a confession out of him through nothing but the sheer force of his gaze.

 

Before he could fully test the theory, Meryl returned for the second time that week, and she wasn’t alone.  She and her friend (another teammate, Hal guessed) took a seat on the far side of the table, greeting Dave, who gave them a slight nod before returning to his book.

 

Hal squirmed. There was no reason Meryl couldn’t sit at the table, it wasn’t as though the seats were reserved or being used at all- but he’d barely gotten accustomed to the idea of sharing the space with Dave, who was at least quiet. The newcomers, on the other hand, were noisy and brash, though they paid Hal no attention which suited him just fine.

 

The next day, Hal made it to the table first and staked his claim in the usual corner. It didn’t surprise him when Dave came and took the seat next to him, and he had more or less accepted the fact that Meryl and her friend would join them eventually.

 

But then two more members of the team found seats.

 

The next day it was three more.

 

By friday, Hal found himself with his arms crammed against his chest as what seemed like half of the student body chose to sit at his table, around it, or even on it. And it _was_ his table, he reminded himself. He’d been there first.

 

If Dave minded at all, he gave no indication, still choosing to read quietly despite the others talking and laughing around him. He hadn’t even acknowledged the fact that all the extra chairs being pulled up meant he was forced to sit that much closer to Hal, their shoulders bumping into each other over and over again.

 

In other circumstances Hal might have found it… exciting- albeit in a strange way he wasn’t quite able to put into words. Dave might have chosen to sit at this table on a whim, but the fact that he didn’t mind being in such close quarters with Hal had to significant, didn’t it?

 

Hal had just about worked up the nerve to actually say something when he was rudely interrupted by a shout and the sudden rush of something cold and wet in his lap.

 

“Ha ha! Oh my god! Oops!”

 

He shot up like a bullet, sending the half-empty bottle to the ground as those around him droned a unified “Ooooh!” before erupting into peals of nasty laughter. Hal gabbed his bag and ran off to the bathroom as fast as he could, not bothering to look back.

 

* * *

 

 

Blessedly, Hal returned to school on Monday to find no cruel graffiti on his locker door- immortalizing him as the kid who had ‘wet his pants’ in front of the entire football team. Even if that wasn’t what had actually happened, he wasn’t about to rely on his peers to be bothered with little things like the truth.

 

Still, there seemed little need to press his luck and when the lunch bell rang, he clutched his bag tightly in his fist and headed through the double doors and out onto the green.

Ironically, the grass was all but abandoned now, the corner table in the cafeteria now the new ‘hot spot’ for the cool kids. Hal didn’t really care for eating on the ground, but at least he was alone again.

 

“Hey.”

 

Well…. It was nice while it lasted.

 

Hal looked up and was completely unsurprised to see Dave standing there, bag slung over one shoulder, can of soda in his hand. He _was_ ; however, very surprised to see that the boy appeared to be offering it to him.

 

“H-hi?” He stared at the can, then back up at Dave. “You’re… not going to tell me the team has dibs on this spot or something, are you?”

 

“Huh?” Dave shook his head, and gestured with the soda once again. “No. Here.”

 

“Thank...you?” Hal said, taking the can.

 

Dave smiled and took the opportunity to find a seat on the ground. Hal gaped at the can as though he’d never seen such a thing before, until Dave spoke again.

 

“I’m sorry about what happened the other day. The guys… can get kind of…” He made a low noise in the back of his throat. “Didn’t really expect that kind of crowd though, but I guess it’s just their nature, following the herd.”

 

Hal nodded as though he completely understood, though it was far from the truth.

 

“Should have said something when Meryl showed up but…”

 

“That doesn’t exactly make you a ‘team player’, huh?”

 

“Heh. Guess not.”

 

“Um, and this?” Hal held the soda up.

 

“That was your drink that got dumped, wasn’t it? Sorry, I don’t know where to get ones like what you had. What was that? It was green.”

 

“Oh.” Hal fiddled with the can in his hands. “M-melon flavored soda. I get them at the Asian market on Harrison.”

 

“Huh. You’ll have to show me sometime.”

The pop of the soda lid blessedly covered Hal’s sudden burst of surprised coughing.

 

“Y-yeah, I could… do that. If you w-want. I go most weekends to pick up a few things. Whatever I can carry home on my bike.”

 

“I could drive.” Dave leaned back, resting his weight on the palms of his hands.

 

“Th-that would um. Be nice. Really convenient. Thanks.”

 

“No trouble. Oh, just one question.”

 

Hal swallowed hard before finally daring to look over. “Yeah?”

 

“Is it okay if I sit here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artwork by the wonderful http://coefore.tumblr.com/


	7. Light My Candle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a fun romp for Halloween! Hal has a lot of...feelings.

“Just three more blocks, Hal. Please!”

 

“E.E., we’ve already been through half the neighborhood, can’t we call it a night?”

 

Hal adjusted the scarf around his neck nervously with one hand, the other held firmly in his little sister’s grasp.

 

“I’m not E.E.! I’m the Venusian Crab!” She stomped her sneaker on the ground once before speeding up again. “It conquered the worrrrrld!”

 

“A crab, huh?” Dave lifted his felt eyepatch and made a show of squinting at the bright red appendages she’d carefully glued to side of her shirt. “Thought you were a ladybug,” he grinned.

 

Emma puffed out her cheeks but said nothing, choosing instead to pull her head down against her chest, letting ends of her hair obscure her face. The sudden shift didn’t go unnoticed by her brother, and he felt it was rather against the Halloween spirit to head home when the youngest member of the party was in a sulk.

 

“One more block, okay? But then we should really head back- I bet Dave is pretty tired and we all have school tomorrow.”

 

“I don’t mind.”

 

Hal looked up at Dave, who was smiling at the two of them in a way that made Hal feel…

 

“Are you sure?” he asked quickly, unwilling to let his train of thought speed along any further.

 

“Yeah, it’s fine.” He gave Hal a reassuring clasp on the shoulder before taking a knee next to the pouting girl. “Wasn’t the Venusian crab rather… giant?”

 

Emma sniffled once, but nodded. “P-pretty big. Maybe at least, this tall!” She stood on her tiptoes and raised her arms, bag full of candy rustling slightly as it bumped against her head.

 

Dave nodded. “Well that settles it then. C’mon, get on up here.” He gestured towards his back. “If you look a bit taller, it should making conquering the world a bit easier.”

 

All at once, Emma’s face lit up and she shoved her bag at Hal so quickly he nearly fell trying to keep the contents from spilling out on the ground. In another few seconds, the three of them were once again on their way, Hal carrying all three bags of candy while Dave held Emma in place atop his shoulders.

 

An hour and several fun sized candy bars later, the three headed home.

 

 

 

 

“Isn’t it time for bed?”

 

Emma stomped a socked foot in disagreement. “You promised you would spend Halloween with me. Halloween night! That means the whole night until midnight! It’s only nine!”

 

“R-right…” Hal glanced back nervously at Dave, who had made himself comfortable on the sofa and was absently rifling through Emma’s bag of candy. Surprisingly, she only shifted from side to side, biting her lip as he ended up choosing a plain sucker and ripped the wrapper from it with his teeth. An acceptable casualty.

 

“So just what are we supposed to do until then?” He asks, genuinely afraid of the answer. Dave tolerated going door to door well enough, but surely his friend was in danger of growing bored at any moment.  

 

“A movie!” Emma grinned. “A spooky one.”

 

“Sounds good to me. What’s on? Something with vampires? Werewolves?”

 

“Err…” Hal looked to his sister, who had made herself at home at Dave’s side, soft red appendages digging into his ribs.

 

“Nah,” she said, clicking through the channels absently. “Something good!”

 

Dave chuckled softly and plucked one of Emma’s claws (a cleverly repurposed oven mitt) from the folds of his shirt as Hal uneasily made his way to sit on the sofa.

 

“This one looks good,” Emma declared with a nod.

 

It was a movie Hal had seen before, so had E.E. for that matter, although perhaps she’d been too young to remember it. Witches in elaborate costumes with plenty of bright colors and singing and even a talking cat just to keep things interesting. Hal had empathized with the zombie, knowing all too well how confounding it could be when you couldn’t get your words out.

 

“She’s just like me.”

 

Hal found his train of thought interrupted as Emma leapt up from the sofa, pointing at the television, smiling at the young girl on screen.

 

“Red hair, and we’re both dressed up for Halloween. My costume is better though, cause I made it myself.”

 

Dave snorted, and Hal didn’t know what to do but nod. “I can see the resemblance.”

“And he’s you!” Emma squealed happily as her counterpart’s big brother made his way on screen. “His hair is even kind of long like yours. Kind of dorky.”

 

“E.E. that’s not very…”

 

“You’re not in this movie Dave. Sorry.”

 

“That’s alright,” Dave shrugged, rolling the lollipop stick from one side of his mouth to the other, the sucker clacking gently against his teeth. “I’ll catch the next one.”

 

The next few minutes passed in relative silence, Emma too wrapped up in the movie and careful categorizing of her candy to make much of a fuss.  Hal was just getting comfortable on the sofa even considering the likelihood of relaxing his shoulders and back, even though that led to the distinct possibility of him leaning up against Dave’s side.

 

He was definitely, almost certainly going to do it too- when the lights flickered before going out, picture television screen blinking out a second later.

 

Emma shrieked.

 

“It’s witches! It’s ghosts! Hal!”

 

“E.E. oof! Calm down! It’s just… the power. Hold on.”

 

“Need a hand, Hal?”

 

“Can- can you stay here with- ow, E.E.? I’ll go find a flashlight or something.”

 

Hal waved his arms around blindly, relying on muscle memory to guide him from the sofa into the hall. Thankfully, the moonlight coming through the windows was enough to help him find the junk drawer in the kitchen.

 

He rummaged around until he found the flashlight, suspiciously light. Oh. Right. Mecha Godzilla had demanded tribute in the form of double-a’s. Hal didn’t relish the idea of digging through his display case in the dark, so he returned the the drawer, looking for anything else to help.

 

“Hal! Hurry! I’m scared!”

 

“Just a second!” He called back, hands grasping onto something promising at last.

 

“Alright then?” Dave asked as he returned, a little more out of breath than he should have been from such a short trip, but then again, Hal had never exactly done well under pressure.

 

He nodded and set down his findings on the coffee table. “Found these tea lights in the kitchen. Should be enough to see by, for a while anyway. Even found a matchbook.”

 

“Don’t light the candles!” Emma yelped, batting wildly in the dark and sending the matches flying.

 

“E.E.? What’s the matter?” Hal had a hard enough time understanding his sister on the best of days, but at times like this- after a long night and without the ability to read her face he was completely lost.

 

“Don’t… don’t light them, Hal.” She repeated. “Or the witches will come. They’ll eat me!”  The evening was basically ruined, and even if he couldn’t see Dave’s face in the dark, he knew his friend had to be-

 

“Emma?” Dave asked quietly. “Is it alright if _I_ light the candle?”

 

Hal waited for her to respond, ears tuned in for the slightest mumble as he scrambled to find the matches on the ground.

 

“Are you a… a ver-gin?” Emma squinted at Dave, stumbling over the alien word.

 

Hal wanted to die.

 

“I promise Emma, no witches are going to come.”

 

“Then that... would be… okay.”

 

“Good. Just sit tight, alright?” There was a soft rustle of fabric and a gentle ‘click’ of a lighter, just bright enough for Hal to see the edges of Dave’s face. “It’s just a little candle from the kitchen, probably smells like apple cinnamon or something.”

 

“Mom likes to get the candles that smell.”

 

“Does she?” Dave chuckled as he reached out to take the candle from Hal who nodded and shrugged.

 

“Yeah, but flowers usually,” Emma added. “Pea blossom. But they don’t smell like peas!”

 

“Heh, well that’s okay.” Dave returned the candle to the table and leaned back into the sofa. “Though maybe I’d buy more candles if they reminded me of the dinner table and not my grandma’s garden.”

 

Emma’s sniffling stopped long enough for her to giggle softly, and she crawled back to the sofa where she took a seat right next to Dave.

 

“See? Everything’s alright.”

 

Emma nodded, but motioned for Hal to sit with them.

 

“We have to stick together, there could still be ghosts and stuff. Or vampires. Vampires are bad too.”

 

“R-right.” Hal took a seat imperceptibly closer than his original position, but just enough so that Dave’s arm was at just the right angle to let his fingers brush his shoulder. “So are we good E.E.? It’s about time for bed.”

 

Emma said nothing, but shook her head furiously in response.

 

“It’s alright,” Dave offered. “We can just wait here til the lights come back. Maybe we’ll even catch the end of the movie. That’s the best part.”

 

“You’ve seen it before?” Hal asked, genuinely surprised.

 

“Well, sure. It’s a classic.”

 

“What happens?” Emma asked, momentarily forgetting to be scared.

 

“Let’s see… I think, after the Sanderson sisters chase the kids into the party where all the parents are, there’s a big musical number…”

* * *

 

 

“Thanks for helping out with E.E. tonight,” Hal said softly, pulling back the blankets as Dave helped set the sleeping girl into bed.

 

“Not a problem, it was fun.” Dave took a step back while Hal took a minute to pull the socks from Emma’s feet and tucked her in with the obnoxiously bright stuffed bird she alway slept with. “Not like I had a lot going on tonight, and nobody at the team parties ever gets my costumes anyway.”

 

“Um. You’re _obviously_ Iriquois Pliskin. How could anybody miss that?”

 

“See?” Dave slapped Hal on the back. “ _You_ get it!”

 

Hal shuffled his feet a little before gesturing towards the door, and Dave followed him out, grabbing his things (and maybe pocketing another piece of candy) as he got ready to leave.

 

“A-anyways,” Hal mumbled, glad the evening hadn’t been a total disaster. “Maybe it’s dumb, but I guess kids get worked out about that kind of stuff. Monsters. Witches. Candles. So… thanks.”

 

“It’s really okay,” Dave grinned again, popping another sucker into his mouth. “Glad to help.” He ruffled Hal’s hair as he got ready to head out the door, but paused for a moment and handed Hal his lighter with a wink as he stepped outside.

 

“For next year. Just in case.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by the fantastic cigar-blues.tumblr.com


End file.
